Droid Engineer Archive

I think that he mini tree is the way to go, but available from any elite profession, possibly with lower costs for DEs, possibly not. If it's based off General Combat XP then it will mean that people do need to be combat capable already. I think we're nearly there, we've got the right format, just need to decide on the right place to put it

I spent the morning catching up on the state of droids... What I am seeing is disturbing. I see the DE profession drifting towords becoming a combat profession.

I have built my character based on a non-combat, crafter-statesman model. As a master Artisan-DE-Politician, what the heck am I going to do with an uber-combat-attack-droid on my data pad? I don't want to fight the droids, I want to make them and sell lots of them to other people to fight them. I don't have enough skill points to get a better-than-CDEF pistol certification. I, the droid engineer, am not a combat profession!

---

jemelby wrote:

I spent the morning catching up on the state of droids... What I am seeing is disturbing. I see the DE profession drifting towords becoming a combat profession.

I have built my character based on a non-combat, crafter-statesman model. As a master Artisan-DE-Politician, what the heck am I going to do with an uber-combat-attack-droid on my data pad? I don't want to fight the droids, I want to make them and sell lots of them to other people to fight them. I don't have enough skill points to get a better-than-CDEF pistol certification. I, the droid engineer, am not a combat profession!

---

Jemelby,

Thats the point of this proposal. You don't need to do the mini-profession as the droid creator, just if you want to be the combat droid user. So you can sell these combat droids (and other droids) to all your customers and maintain MDE as a crafting profession.

So a couple new questions related to this. How should the XP work for the mini-prof? Should it be combat XP? Some CH-like droid use XP?

Thanks,

Ywi Odiwovvi
Master Droid Engineer
Corbantis

---

Thunderheart wrote:

---

AdlerTagmann wrote:
This idea is a good compromise.

I think making the mini droid tree available to MDEs is a good idea.

Perhaps a compromise on level could be say one CL30 or 2 CL15 or 3 CL10 or 6 CL5 out at a time to make even more variety.

Perhaps make the highest droid 75% of the highest pet then use the above to allow more flexibility.

Also allow all players to have ONE non combat capable droid out in addition to their allowed combat droids. MDEs could have 2 non combat droids out at a time.

Just some thoughts

---

I agree. This direction has the strongest likelihood of success, but it will depend on a couple of things. It has to be put in so it can be balanced with the combat system as it will be and not as it is (that makes assessing things kind of tricky).

Secondly, handling droids is bigger than a single tree, but smaller than a whole profession. Technologically whether its 1 tree, 2 trees or the typical 4 trees is going to have a bearing on things (as it relates to coding the changes).

Going forward, keep mulling these things over. Runesabre had to go out of town on personal business but I know you guys really want to voice your opinions on this (though in reality we are a week or two away from any kind of development).

Im working on the In Dev post now. I would encourage you folks to play devil's advocate with the arguments and look at everything from all angles.

---

Then who are MDEs going to sell their high level combat droids to? Any MDE will be making their own...... this is rediculous.

Why not get rid of BioEngineering all together and just add it all on to the Master CH box??

lorlildeh,

read the entire thread. MDEs get the mini-tree but so do all folks who have mastered an elite combat prof.

Thanks,

Grom

I can see this going a couple of directions:

1. the droid handler profession is an entire elite tree similar to CH. If so there are several questions you have to ask:

• what novice profession will it branch off of


• what will occupy all four branches of the skill tree


• how many droids will be controllable at once


• what is the total max CL of droids that should be controllable


• should proposed mods for droid control fron the DEprofession stack with the proposed mods for droid control stack with the mods from the DH profession

2. if the DH is a mini tree, there are also considerations (mostly similar) to be thought about:

• what skills/professions will allow you to access the mini tree


• what is the max CL from a mini tree


• what is the max number of droids that should be controllable from a mini tree


• should proposed mods stack


• what will the skills in a mini (one or two trees) be

here are my answers to these questions

if DH is an entire elite profession:

• I think it should branch off of artisan engeneering tree


• I think that the four branches will be pretty sparse for DH's unlike the CH, droids are fairly easy to control (IMHO) and will not require training as creatures do. the commands a droid can learn sepend upon the quality of the droid brain and personality chip that is installed, not the skill of the trainer.


• you should be able to control as many droids as you choose to call, again this is based upon my opinion that droids are easier to control than creatures


• I think that the CH max CL of 70 is a good guideline to have set for droid total levels called


• Mods should stack!if you spend the points, you get the mods, pure and simple.

if DH is a mini tree

• I think that lvl 4 in any novice profession, OR the novice box in any elite profession should give you access to the DH mini tree OR at the master box in a novice profession (Im really open to debate on this)


• max CL should be limited by the number of skill points put into the mini tree. if it is 30, you should get something like 25-35 max CL for total droid control


• again, I think that you should be able to call as many droids as you like up to your max CL level.


• mods stack please


• with only two trees, the skills could be a lot more concentrated and make each skill box have a tangible reward at the cost of less overall power for the profession.

in summary:

the entire debate seems to be revolving around power vs. skill points invested. this must be balanced not only against the skill point investment, but against the CH profession (again IMHO). I have nt really hit upon all the issues, and these are just my opinions, I hope they help

just an opinion on the xp requirement.

i think combat xp can be used for the initial level of the mini profession but there should definately be some sort of droid use xp required to continue to gain the other levels.

this will make players have to actually use the different levels of droids on there way to the top which is better for the DE's financially (i am not nor do i plan to be a DE btw).

also this will prevent people from just using all there left over combat xp to level to the top and start out with the most uber droid right away. it would require them to actually get to know and use droids instead of just grabbing up the droid they think will make them most uber without ever having used one before.

I am questioning why this droid user mini profession would be exclusively available to mastered combat professions. I think it is safe to say that in the movies, the majority of representations of combat droids was as a replacement for a combatant, NOT as a supplement to combat skills. Why would an artisan or entertainer for example, not wish to use droids so they do not have to get their own hands dirty, whether it be cleaning the womp rats off the moisture vaporators, or personal protection.

I haven't read all the posts regarding all the DE developments, but has anyone suggested this? Or is it already being proposed with this in mind?

All pets/droids count towards the same CL limit.

I'm thinking this would help balance any problems that might arise from players getting out high-level CH pets and high-level DE/DH droids at the same time. If they both were counted against the same level then even someone that mastered both professions (if that's even possible) would still only be able to field a maximum of CL 70.

If they use different limits for Creatures and Droids, I can forsee balance problems if the DH profession is avail. to everyone. If they limit the DH profession by making it a mini-tree off only certain elite-professions then the DE is limited in their potential customer base.

As a devil's advocate tough, the BE only has one profession as it's customer-base for high-level pets and seems to be doing ok now. So, perhaps limiting the higher-level droids to only the elite-combat professions would be plenty of customers for the DE. Something to discuss I guess.

I just don't want to see someone fielding a CL 50+ BE/CH pet along side a CL 50+ DE droid. I think a universal CL limit would alleviate that.

---

Jenden wrote:


The problem I have with it is we are already a full crafting profession. ....

---

Ywi,

There are some great ideas here, but I think it would be a huge load on the DEVs to intigrate something like this. Not sure it would even be considered, but Im all for it if it means we DE's get to leave our homes and be more versatile or usefull to our hunting parties.